Australia Day as we know it, is a day to have off work, and spend time with family and friends, often having a picnic or barbecue – just having a lazy day. But it wasn’t always like this. In fact it wasn’t even a public holiday in all states until 1994.

To quote from the Australia Day website …

The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Not until 1994 did they begin to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on that date.

So we find that in 1915 Australia Day was in fact held July 30th. Why that particular day I don’t know, but it was, and it was used not only to have a celebration,  but also commemorate those who went to war, and used as a means for fundraising for the war.

The article from South Australia’s ‘Register’ newspaper, dated 2 August 1915 describes what the Gumeracha district (which covers the town of Gumeracaha, as well as the neighbouring towns of Forreston, Kenton Valley and Cudlee Creek) did on this day.

Australia Day at Gumeracha, The Register, 2 August 1915, p. 10. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59422226

Again, we have to thank Trove newspapers for being there when we need it, and for providing information that we otherwise wouldn’t have found.

The photographs below are from a collection held by local historian, Alan Phillips. Grouped together in a box titled “Cudlee Creek”, it is believed that the following photographs are taken on Australia Day 1915 (or around then). Sadly not all are captioned, but those that are, have the captions noted below.

Australia Day, Cudlee Creek, c.1915
Back L-R: Arthur? Roepke, E.G. Ludewigs, Fred Tippett, Ted Pool, Bill Schlein, Fred Schultz, Stephen Redden, Ted Lambert
Middle L-R: Fred Langley, Bill Hille, Ern Hanaford, Bill Menz, Elliott Hannaford
Front L-R: Arthur Nagle, Ted Gallas, Le Lambert

possibly Australia Day, Cudlee Creek c.1915
L-R: Roy Pritchard?, Ted Pool, Bill Menz

Australia Day celebrations, Cudlee Creek

Australia Day, Cudlee Creek

Australia Day, Cudlee Creek, c1917

The Adelaide Hills Council was fortunate to obtain a grant through the South Australian Government’s “Anzac Day Commemoration Fund“. For this they nominated that the funds would be used towards “research and preservation of Honour Board Memorials of Adelaide Hills”, and to “engage with schools and local groups to locate and research honour boards for inclusion in the publication War Memorials of the Adelaide Hills”.

The War Memorials of the Adelaide Hills Council

To commemorate Anzac 2015, a publication “War Memorials of the Adelaide Hills” was produced which details information about the war memorials throughout the Adelaide Hills in the towns covered by the Council, giving town name with details of the monuments.

A second edition of “War Memorials of the Adelaide Hills”, that will also include additional material and corrections that have been made by the community will also be produced, and released in due course.

The Council also have a separate project to research, photograph and record details on all the honour boards in the Council area.  While the majority of the honour boards can be found in local RSLs, community halls and schools, others have found their way to more obscure locations. The lack of detail of honour boards made it difficult to provide a comprehensive account of the memorials within the Council area. The aim is for this one to be released as a book as well.

The Adelaide Hills Council covers a large area in the Hills region, and includes the towns: Aldgate, Aldgate Valley, Ashton, Balhannah, Basket Range, Birdwood, Bradbury, Bridgewater, Carey Gully, Castambul, Chain of Ponds, Charleston, Cherryville, Crafers, Crafers West, Cudlee Creek, Dorset Vale, Eagle on the Hill, Forest Range, Forreston, Greenhill, Gumeracha, Heathfield, Houghton, Humbug Scrub, Inglewood, Inverbrackie, Ironbank, Kenton Valley, Kersbrook, Lenswood, Lobethal, Longwood, Lower Hermitage, Marble Hill, Millbrook, Montacute, Mount George, Mount Lofty, Mount Torrens, Mylor, Norton Summit, Oakbank, Paracombe, Piccadilly, Rostrevor, Scott Creek, Stirling, Summertown, Teringie, Upper Hermitage, Upper Sturt, Uraidla, Verdun, Woodforde, and Woodside.

Can you help?
The Adelaide Hills Council believe that honour boards are another link in conserving our heritage and in the recognition of the sacrifice made by young men and women at times of war, and they are after your help. If you know the whereabouts of any honour boards within the district please let them know.

Contact Details
project convenor: Helen Smith
phone: (08) 8408 0400
email: mail@ahc.sa.gov.au
web: www.ahc.sa.gov.au

Today is a special day.

Maybe “special” isn’t the right word. Maybe “remembrance” would be more suitable. As it was on this day 138 years ago … (28 December 1876) that my great great grandpa William Beavis Randell passed away.

For today’s Movember picture we hit the jackpot with three of four Randell brothers having impressive moustaches.

Anyone who had followed my blog for any length of time will know that I have written oodles of posts that relate to the Randell family from Berry Pomeroy in Devon and Gumeracha, South Australia. However I have tended to focus on my direct line, my great grandpa John Beavis “JB” Randell, and his father William Beavis Randell rather than branch off onto many of William’s other children – those from his first marriage (he had nine).

Francis Henry “Frank” Randell was one of William Beavis’ sons, and these handsome boys are his sons. From left we have: Gerald, Allan, Horace, and Francis “Frank Jnr”. This photo isn’t dated, but Gerald was born in 1881, so I would say that this photo was taken early 1900s.

The four sons of Frank Randell and Sarah Nickels.
From left we have Gerald, Allan, Horace, and Francis “Frank Jnr” Randell.